Harry's Proposal
by Skylarking
Summary: 15 years before the 'Nineteen Years Later' That's about all, Harry's proposal to Ginny.


**So, this is my first story ever. I know it's not great and it doesn't flow well but that's why I'm putting it on. I'm not sure how to improve. So, if you could read it and just kind of hint how to well, that would be great. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I guess I'm supposed to put that I don't own the characters**.  
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Harry had been uncharacteristically quiet over the last few days and his change in attitude had not gone unnoticed. He was sitting at the Weasleys' kitchen table alone with Mrs. Weasley's back to him, preparing diner. He had spent the summer with Ron and Hermione so they where at the Burrow, Ron's house, a lot of the time. Though instead of being with Ron and Hermione, Harry spent most of him time with Ginny.  
With a great 'huff', Harry got up from the table, it was the end of the summer and he and Ron were about to enter their final year of training to become aurors. Hermione was to become part of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for the Ministry of Magic to improve living conditions for House Elves and Ginny was still undecided but she really wanted to continue in some way with quidditch.

Mrs. Weasley turned and with a worried expression asked "Harry, dear, are you alright? Because if there is something bothering you, you can talk to me." She added the last bit with a reassuring smile. Harry simply nodded and started up the stairs to Ron's tiny room in the attic. The arrangements were quite complex after the battle with Voldemort. Hogwarts had been completely destroyed but with the help of several skilled witches and wizards it was as good as new, almost. Since Fred was dead, George closed their shop in Diagon-Alley and started working for the Ministry, he moved in to the house given to Harry by Sirius. Kingsley was at the Ministry and lives their with Percy and Harry, whenever he chose to drop in...which wasn't often. The house had become the meeting place for the order of the Phoenix and D.A. which suited everyone quite well. At the Weasley's place Harry shared Ron's room and Hermione shared Ginny's. Hermione explained to her parents, who were now safely back in England and had been for for a few years with little memory of their stay in Australia, that it was easier for her to stay where everyone was magical like she was.

Ginny had been busy with Bill and Fleur's baby girl Victoire since she was now 2 years old. Harry continued on his way up to 'Ron's room' as he still called even though he knew Hermione would be there, as she usually was. Harry knocked lightly on the door thought he didn't honestly expect them to hear. "Come in Harry." Hermione called happily, which was to his great surprise. Ron and Hermione were sitting on Ron's bed smiling dreamily, he would have been disgusted but he often had that very same expression while thinking about Ginny. Harry's friends remembered he had come into the room after several awkward seconds for him. Hermione turned to him with tears in her eyes and raised her left hand while Ron turned a red that matched his hair and smiled like the Cheshire cat himself at her. "I'm engaged," Hermione half shrieked, half squealed then turned and kissed her new fiance enthusiastically. Harry wasn't surprised because he had spent several nights planning and practicing the perfect way to ask her but Hermione's excitement was contagious so he went over and gave her a hug. Harry stepped back and eyed Ron sternly and with a deep sigh announced "I need to talk to you ," he smiled apologetically at Hermione and added, "Alone." Hermione got the message and left, while making her way to the kitchen she yelled back over her shoulder that she was going to tell Mrs. Weasley, they could hear her giggling faintly until she reached the last step to the kitchen.

It was now Harry's turn to be bright red, he turned to Ron and felt his usual control slipping from his grasp, that says a lot considering all that he has faced. When he turned back to his best friend, he took a long breath and held it while Ron looked at him suspiciously. Ron's clear impatience at having been interrupted was starting to become clear so Harry finally started. "Congratulations Ron, really, I'm happy for you," he paused to consider his next words carefully. "Ron, I want to marry your sister." Ron's response was simply to stare and after the longest seconds of his life so far Ron began to speak. In all honesty, Harry was very surprised, he was anticipating the reaction of an older brother who had been approached by his sisters boyfriend he expected to be given a couple suggestions relating however loosely to parts of his anatomy that he had grown rather fond of. He also expected that he would be decapitated by the sheer force of revulsion towards such a ridiculous idea, but instead he got the best friend. That alone was enough to scare him. "Harry? you wanna marry my sister, why? I would never force such a fate on my best friend!" Then Ron cracked up as though that was the most brilliant suggestion he had heard in his whole life. "Ron, I'm serious, I l-love Ginny...I-I'll be-" Ron stopped him mid-sentence, "I figured you were serious, and I guess I saw this coming, and honestly...I don't wanna know what you'll do with my sister." Ron ended his speech with hysterically chuckling, shacking his head, "but, that's pretty cool. If you can get not only my parents to say yes but Ginny too...well good luck with that." Harry nodded and lest, descending the stairs slowly to try to process what has just happened.

When he finally reached the kitchen Mrs. Weasley and Hermione were almost jumping for joy but he just gave them an almost-smile and reclaimed his seat at the table. The women turned to him and looked as though they were about to burst so with great care he considered what to say and the words or word that popped out was "What?" "Well," said Hermione as a look of pure guilt clouded her expression for a quarter of a second. "Well, there was the fact that you know, you didn't want me to hear so naturally...OH MY GOSH!!! You are going to marry GINNY!!!" Mrs. Weasley joined Hermione bouncing on the floor and laughing at an unnaturally high pitch. Harry lowered his head in defeat and covered his face in his hands more or less at a loss of what to do.

Poor Harry didn't get much time to think before Mr. Weasley walked through the door looking quite stern. "So, Harry my boy. Molly called me at work to tell me there was something you wanted to ask...?" Mr. Weasley finished and his voice at the end along with an eyebrow. That look made Harry believe that he already had a pretty good idea about what he intended to ask. He felt utterly lost and looked at Mrs. Weasley pleadingly but she was beaming so he felt that an apology for his current situation were far from coming. Harry took a moment to consider his situation and his options before speaking but drew a blank so just dove in, he figured 3 down...2 to go. "Mr. Weasley..." Harry began uncertainly but Mr. Wealey was practically bouncing on the balls on his feet. "I-I was w-wondering if I could marry Ginny?" The look he gave Mr. Weasley could only be described as pathetic but Harry did hear the barely human squeals coming from the women behind him as Mr. Weasley considered his request. "Alright Harry, I have decided that if you can get Ginny, my little girl, my only girl, to say yes. To give you her hand in marriage, you have my blessing." Mr. Weasley turned to his wife and Hermione with the same sober expression and the three of them started laughing. "Molly!" He exclaimed, "I was great eh? Wasn't that believable!?! But Harry, my poor boy, lighten up. I think I gave a great performance, I call it the 'Concerned Father'" Mr. Weasley informed them all with an air of superiority, clearly expecting a praise for his gift in acting.

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The next day Hermione started dragging Harry to every store she could think of to find the perfect ring for Ginny. Finally in a shadier shop that Hermione absolutely insisted upon them entering, they were greeted like royalty. "Potter, my dear boy. How you have grown! How are things? Oh, what can I do for you Harry?" Harry had become completely dumbfounded after the first three words, he had no idea what his professor was doing here. "Oh, you are probably wondering what your old professor is doing here. Well after the fall of Voldemort, I could cater to one of my true loves-" He gestured to his surroundings with an out swept hand. They were all quite peculiar, actually, they were bordering on strange but Harry and Hermione exchanged a loaded glance, quietly exchanging the knowledge that this came as no surprise.

After a few seconds of trying to identify something of questionable substance in the back corner, Hermione started to talk. "Hello Mr. Slughorn, I can see you have bee doing well. We are here for a ring, a ring for Harry." "Ah, a ring for Harry, is he finally going to propose to Ginny then?" The whole wizarding world had obviously been conspiring, Hermione's eyes twinkled but she pretendedto be exasperated as though shopping for her best friend's engagement ring was a burden and not one of the best things she has ever done. "Yes, Harry has finally decided to ask Ginny, but, as I said he doesn't have a ring." She shot Harry and exasperated glance, he just shrugged. He found out earlier in the day that trying to inform her that he just decided that he was going to ask her yesterday, but not to his surprise Hermione didn't find that a good enough reason. Slughorn smiled smugly, clearly he was again counting this as a personal achievement, "I have this for you, 'tis one of my finest. Beautiful, if I do say so myself." And it being Slughorn, of course he would say so himself. Harry was admiring the ring because truthfully, it was incredible...a little morbid but still very nice. The ring was made of gold with with two snakes as the band who met in the middle, wrapped around a rose in the middle then around each other. The red of the rose was a beautiful jewel and the only other colour. Conventional? No, but Hermione had already decided that it was PERFECT and asking their former teacher for a box to put it in. Since neither of them were exactly familiar with the wizard way to celebrate such things they had decided to go with the muggle style which they were more comfortable with. They thanked him and walked out.

When they returned to the Burrow, the sounds coming from the kitchen were quite unnerving and that means a lot when you are staying with the Weasleys so Harry and Hermione proceeded with care. When the two of them had reached the door all was silent which was even scarier, again, considering where they were. When they braved the silence they were surprised to find Mrs. Weasley, her daughter in law Fleur, her daughter Victoire and Ginny sitting at the table. Harry got an uncomfortable feeling that he was being over powered when Hermione started giggling and Fleur started talking. "'Vell 'Arry? Dere ez no time like ze present." He laughed silently to himself because yesterday that had been his argument and now the words were being thrown back at him. Hermione handed Harry the box she had acquired somehow as if hinting that they wanted to e there to witness what would sure be the ultimate rejection. Ginny was genuinely confused, especially when Harry took the book and knelt down before her at the kitchen table where she had been sitting. "Well Ginny, this is not what I had planned," he felt the need to glare at the others but was afraid to look away and loose his nerve. "Will you do me the honour of marrying me?" All was silent, to Harry at least while he waited to get married or to but utterly crushed.

One tear started running down the left side of Ginny's face before she broke out in a huge smile. "Yes, yes Harry. Of course I'll marry you!!!" She got up from her seat and pulled him up with her. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him while the others clapped in the background. Harry put the ring on Ginny's finger and kissed her again. "Mum, I'm getting married, AHHH!!" Ginny informed her mother on the edge of hysterics, "can I start to plan my wedding? Hermione, will you be my Maid of Honour? OHHH, I'm SOO excited! I want something beautiful, just like yours was Fleur..." Ginny keept talking a mile a minute. Harry backed away nervously. "I'm gonna go find Ron, that's were I'll be if you need me.," please don't need me he said to himself though no one would have heard him anyways.

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**So, as I said at the beginning, my story isn't great but it's my first try so please tell me what you liked (yes, I know, assuming you liked anything) and what I can improve on, though the first would be a shorter list. haha, thanks!!**


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